1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to video processing. More particularly, this invention relates to modifying screen resolutions.
2. Background
The display of video images has become extremely important in the modern world, including typical computer uses, such as multimedia games and video conferencing, as well as other entertainment uses, such as movies. Modern computers, as well as other commercially available devices, typically include the ability to display video images, many of which allow display of real-time motion video. Examples of such systems include display devices designed for use with typical computer systems.
One problem encountered in many systems is the amount of memory required to display video images. Mass storage devices, such as CD-ROMs, digital video disks (DVDs) and hard disk drives are relatively inexpensive. However, the process of displaying video images typically requires transfer of these images from the mass storage device (or other source) to a more expensive random access memory (RAM), typically referred to as a frame buffer. The RAM used as the frame buffer is often video RAM (VRAM), which is particularly suited to displaying video, but which is also very expensive. The amount of VRAM within a system can often noticeably affect the overall system price. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a way to reduce the amount of VRAM necessary for video images.
Additionally, modern computer systems typically provide users with the ability to alter screen resolution and color resolution for their display devices. The screen resolution refers to the number of pixels displayed by the display device, while the color resolution refers to the number of different colors which each pixel can have. Larger screen and color resolutions provide for more realistic video images, but also require additional memory, including VRAM, for storage and display. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a way to reduce the amount of memory used for video images without significantly reducing the image quality.
Thus, a need exists for a method and apparatus for modifying screen resolution based on available memory.